


Plastic Uncle to Six Kids

by MaroonLeoInvestedCrybaby



Series: Shazam & Plastic Man [7]
Category: DCU (Comics), Justice League - All Media Types, Plastic Man (Comics), Shazam! (2019), Shazam! | Captain Marvel (Comics)
Genre: Angst, Billy admits that he thinks of Plastic Man as an uncle, Comedy, Fluff, Plas becomes everyone's uncle, Uncle-Nephew Relationship, in fact
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-13
Updated: 2021-03-13
Packaged: 2021-03-20 21:27:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,838
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30011187
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MaroonLeoInvestedCrybaby/pseuds/MaroonLeoInvestedCrybaby
Summary: Plastic Man is sent by Superman to check on Billy Batson, who hasn't been seen on the Watchtower for some time, and the rubbery hero is surprised to learn that the kid has five siblings who he has never heard about. This discovery leads to a spontaneous baby-sitting job and Plastic Man bonding with each member of the Marvel family.
Series: Shazam & Plastic Man [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1923154
Comments: 8
Kudos: 19





	Plastic Uncle to Six Kids

It was a fairly relaxed day up on the Justice League Watchtower and Plastic Man was enjoying a quiet walk down the hallways and looking out at the stars through the viewing windows. Before he could stare at those constellations for too long, a voice interrupted the elastic hero’s star-gazing.

“Plastic Man, do you have a moment?”

The stretchy hero turned around and saw Superman approaching him. He panicked, thinking he was in trouble but before he could even begin to defend himself against any kind of offense, Superman spoke first.

“Have you seen Billy recently? It’s been a few days since I last saw him and I’m beginning to worry. I know he likes you and I would search for him but League duties are keeping me busy so…”

Plastic Man smiled and dramatically saluted.

“No worries, Supes. I can check on him.”

“Thanks, Plas. Let Billy know I said hi.”

Superman flew back the way he came and Plastic Man let out the breath he held in during the whole conversation, sounding a little like a balloon losing all its air. Every time Superman started walking towards him, the rubbery hero always assumed he was about to get lectured. Well, it looks like he got lucky this time.

After pulling himself together after the sudden appearance of the famous hero, Plastic Man started making his way to the Transporter room.

As the elastic hero walked into the room, he saw George operating the switches and teleporting heroes where they were needed. A mischievous smile appeared on Plastic Man’s face and he shrunk himself down to the size of an action figure, and simultaneously stretched himself over onto George’s shoulder. 

The crew member was oblivious to the miniature hero standing on his left shoulder and continued transporting League members. The rubbery hero waited for George to turn and look at him but after it started to take too long, Plastic Man reached up his tiny hand and tapped George’s face. The crew member looked confused for a moment and then glanced to his left and nearly shrieked in shock when he saw a tiny Plastic Man standing there with a goofy smile.

Plastic Man stretched his way off the transport crew member’s shoulder and was laughing so hard that he was holding his stomach as he formed back into his original size. George looked a little annoyed but the small smile on his face showed that he wasn’t too angry at the rubbery hero’s antics.

“Do you have to give me a heart attack almost every time we see each other, Plastic Man?”

The elastic hero seemed to finally catch his breath and eventually stood back up to return the smile.

“No, but it must be boring just standing here for hours so I thought surprising you might be a nice change.”

The crew member rolled his eyes and turned back to the console.

“Yeah, if you can even count nearly passing out as a nice change…”

Plastic Man came over, stood next to George and playfully elbowed him.

“C’mon George, I know you enjoy my little surprise visits.”

George chuckled and continued transporting League members down to their locations.

“I suppose I do, when I know you’re coming and I can mentally prepare.”

Plastic Man laughed and wrapped an arm around George and jostled him around, nearly sending some heroes to the middle of outer space rather than safely on Earth, where they can actually breathe. The crew member sighed in relief as he fixed the coordinates in time and turned to looked at the elastic hero.

“Did you need something or did you just want to chat?”

Plastic Man’s goggles widened and he released George from his side hug.

“Yeah, Superman wanted me to go and check on Billy. Apparently he hasn’t been here in a few days. Have you seen him at all, George?”

The transporter crew member shook his head.

“No, I haven’t seen him. Do you want me to send you to his hometown?”

“That’d be great, George…Except I don’t know where the kid lives.”

George looked away from Plastic Man and scanned the Transporter Room. When he saw that it was empty, he turned back to the stretchy hero and whispered.

“I can tell you where his house is…”

Plastic Man grabbed George by the shoulders and stared at him.

“Why do you know where Billy lives?”

“Well, he frequently transports to and from one specific place and once, Billy asked me to send him to a particular address. After that, he never asked me to send him there again and made me promise not tell anyone.”

Plastic Man narrowed his eyes and gripped George’s shoulders tighter.

“Are you positively sure that’s where he lives?”

“Well, no…But it’s the best shot you have, Plas.”

The rubbery hero considered what George said and after a moment, nodded and stretched down onto the Transporter. He smiled up at the crewman and gave one of those goofy grins that he was so famous for in the League.

“Send me down, George. I’m depending on your logic here so if you’re wrong, I’m gonna make you regret it.”

George smirked as he activated the transporter and before Plastic Man disappeared, offered a farewell statement that signaled even a threat like that wasn't going to end their ongoing friendship.

“Well, you can only prank me so many times before I retire, Plastic Man. Good luck.”

The stretchy hero felt the familiar sensation of being broken down into atoms flood his body and he stood still as all of them formed back together into his original form. No matter how many times he did that, it still felt strange and a bit frightening.

Plastic Man looked around and saw that he was standing in the driveway of a cozy-looking home. There were no cars in front of the house so the elastic hero debated on whether anyone was home at the moment. However, George seemed fairly sure that this address was important to Billy in some way so Plastic Man decided to at least check and see if anyone was home.

The rubbery hero walked up the gravel driveway and stood on the front step. He knocked on the door and waited for someone to respond. After a moment, the door opened and Billy Batson stood there with a shocked look on his face. The stretchy hero smiled at the kid’s reaction and raised a hand in greeting.

“Hey, Billy! Long time no see! Supes—“

“Plas! Get in here before someone sees you!”

Billy grabbed Plastic Man and nearly dragged him inside the house. He closed the door behind the rubbery hero and then looked up with a slightly annoyed expression.

“Plas, you do realize that people will definitely notice a hero wearing goggles and a red leotard, right?”

Plastic Man smirked and ruffled Billy’s black hair, much to his annoyance.

“Don’t worry, Billy. Nobody pays much attention to me anyway. I’m not exactly anyone’s favorite hero. Now, if Batman was here, you would have a mob gathering around.”

Billy shook his head at Plastic Man degrading himself and instead pressed on the more obvious problem with the rubbery hero’s sudden appearance.

“Never mind that, Plas. How did you find my house? Did you attach yourself to my backpack again?”

“No, no, nothing like that. Superman was worried about you and well, George was the only one who knew where you lived so, here I am!”

Billy looked both frustrated and touched by everyone’s concern over him, even if he was only gone for a few days.

Unbeknownst to Plastic Man, five pairs of eyes were watching his every move and one of those pairs of eyes were nearly bugging out of their owner’s skull. After a moment, the owners of all those eyes came around the corner and stood in the doorway. Plastic Man turned and nearly jumped out of his stretchy skin when he saw five other kids  
standing there and staring at him.

“WOAH! Where did you all come from?!”

Before any of the new faces could say anything, Billy interrupted and answered Plastic Man’s outburst.

“Chill out Plas, these are my siblings.”

The shock started to wear off of Plastic Man’s face and he looked back and forth between Billy and the other five kids standing across from him.

“These are your brothers and sisters, Billy?”

The kid nodded and Plastic Man couldn’t help but smile back over at the group of kids still staring at him.

“I’m glad to see Billy has a such a big family. I was beginning to worry he was a bit of loner, like me. Ow!”

Billy had elbowed Plastic Man in the torso and before the rubbery hero could get back at the kid for the surprise attack, one of the other kids interrupted in a thrilled shriek.

“Y-You’re P-Plastic Man!”

Plastic Man turned his attention to the kid supporting his weight on a crutch and shaking in excitement. A goofy smile spread across the hero’s face and he waved at him.

“Hey, Freddy!”

Freddy started wobbling even more from hearing Plastic Man say his name so casually. His voice was trembling in excitement as he responded to the elastic hero.

“Y-You know me?!”

Billy interrupted Plastic Man before he could speak.

“It’s a long story, Freddy.”

Freddy glared at Billy and raised his other hand, ready to argue but he was overruled by Billy and Plastic Man turning around to discuss something amongst themselves. Freddy turned to his siblings with a frustrated look and they all couldn’t stop staring at the hero standing in their house. Plastic Man whispered to Billy while they were having their secret conference in front of the other kids.

“Just so I know what I can say around your siblings, do they know about…”

Billy sighed and finished the stretchy hero’s sentence.

“Yes, Plas, they know about me being Captain Marvel.”

“Oh good, that secret was going to be too much for me to keep under wraps with your siblings. Oh, one other thing…You have powers but what about them? I know you told me about a wizard giving them to you but I’m guessing your brothers and sisters don’t have any…Do they?”

Billy hesitated before answering. He glanced over at his siblings watching him and Plastic Man talking together and seriously debated on telling the rubbery hero that they all had powers that turned them into super-powered adults. However, he remembered that the only reason that Plastic Man knew about his secret-identity was because of worrying about him and since there was no danger, there was no reason to tell him, right?

The kid finally answered the elastic hero.

“I can’t tell you that, Plas. They will have to tell you themselves when they want to.”

Plastic Man looked confused over that cryptic answer but understood that Billy didn’t want to speak for his siblings and respected the kid’s decision. After the two finished talking amongst themselves, the stretchy hero turned to the other kids and attempted to start a conversation with them to clear the awkward atmosphere.

“So, what are you kids doing unattended? Not getting into trouble, I hope.”

Billy sighed beside the rubbery hero and shook his head.

“No, we’re just waiting for Victor and Rosa to get back from a trip. They said they would get back tomorrow morning, so you should probably—“

“Wait!” Plastic Man interrupted and looked around the house and then back at Billy, “They left you six kids by yourselves? Did they at least get a babysitter to check in on you?”

“Mary is going to college, Plas. I think she’s old enough to look after us.”

Plastic Man looked over at the group of kids still staring at him and noticed the taller of the two girls giving him a look. She had long brown hair and looked like the oldest out of the group of kids. The rubbery hero awkwardly waved in her direction and then turned to look back at Billy.

“Look Billy, I trust Victor's and Rosa’s judgements since they look after you kids but what if something happened to Mary?”

Billy rolled his eyes.

“Plas, I have powers remember? I can take care of my family.”

Plastic Man still didn’t look completely convinced so Billy decided on the only thing that would settle the stretchy hero’s nerves:

“Plas, do you want to stay here until Rosa and Victor get back, since you think we can’t handle it?”

Plastic Man looked a little hurt at the insinuation that he didn’t think these kids weren’t capable of taking care of themselves but he nodded.

“It’s not that I don’t think you can handle it, kid. I just don’t want you to be alone if you need help.”

Billy’s face softened a little and he grabbed the rubbery hero’s while looking up to smile at him.

“Thanks, Plas.”

Freddy’s patience had worn out at this point so he hobbled forward to grab Plastic Man by the arm. The rubbery hero jumped a little and looked down at the kid, a slightly quizzical look shining through his goggles.

“Tell me about the Watchtower, Plastic Man, sir.”

The stretchy hero smiled and let Freddy drag him over to the couch and started listing off obscure facts that only a League member would know.

“Well, the hallways are honestly painted a terrible shade of gray but what are you gonna do when Batman is the main person who provided the funds? The man just doesn’t appreciate colors of any other spectrum besides blacks, grays, and whites.”

Freddy sputtered a little as he sat on the sofa beside the hero and pressed him for more details while the other siblings filed into the living room as well.

“Wait, Batman funded the Watchtower?! Where did he get the money from?”

Plastic Man shrugged.

“Who knows? There’s a theory going around in the League that he’s Bruce Wayne but that’s ridiculous. Have you seen how different they are from each other?”

“But has anyone seen them in the same room together?”

Plastic Man smirked and couldn’t resist the urge to tousle the kid’s brown curls, which caused Freddy to pull an annoyed look that mirrored Billy almost perfectly.

“You remind me of a particular detective, Freddy. I think you two would get along really well.”

“Wait, are you talking about Question?! The detective that doesn’t have a face?”

“Yeah, Billy and I had a run in with him once but we’re on good terms, don’t worry.”

Before Freddy could press more details about heroes and the Watchtower, a small hand tapped Plastic Man’s shoulder and he turned to see Darla standing there and holding a wooden box covered in colorful stickers that was filled with something that was rattling around.

“Plastic Man, sir? Could I…paint your nails?”

Plastic Man looked back at Freddy and he seemed all right with his sister spending some time with the rubbery hero so Plastic Man back around to smile a huge grin at the girl.

“Of course! I would love to have my nails painted by Billy’s little sister…?”

Darla smiled so big it nearly reached her ears.

“My name’s Darla! What color would you like?

“You pick, I’ll be fine with anything!”

Darla sat beside the stretchy hero and began digging through her box of nail polish and pulled out all the shades of pink she owned. Each one was a little different and some had sparkles and others were shimmery. The girl held up one and read out the miniature name on the glass bottle.

“This one is called ‘Sweet Peach,’” Darla looked up at Plastic Man to tell her whether he liked the color or not, but he just nodded and she kept reading off the color names, “This one has sparkles in it and it’s named ‘Magenta Madness’…Ooh, I love this one! This one is called ‘Sweet Heart’.”

Plastic Man smiled at Darla’s enthusiasm as she continued reading off the colors. She eventually decided on a different color for each of the hero’s nails, every one of them was going to be a shade of pink. The elastic hero didn’t so much as blink as she started painting his nails the bright colors. He was patient as they dried and diligently followed Darla’s advice to get them to dry faster and keep the polish from chipping. 

Mary had disappeared during the procedure and eventually returned to come over with another box and smirked playfully at Plastic Man as he kept waving his hands around to get the polish to dry. Freddy scooted over a little bit so she could sit next to the stretchy hero. Once he realized she was sitting next to him, Plastic Man looked over and then posed his hands in front of his face with them spread apart to show off his pink and magenta nails.

“What do you think, Mary? Your sister should consider becoming a nail artist!”

Mary smiled and opened the box that was next to her. She pulled out a a bottle of cream colored liquid and smirked at the rubbery hero.

“You know what would go great with your nails?”

Plastic Man titled his head to the side.

“No, what?”

“A whole make-up look. What do you think?”

Plastic Man smiled and adjusted his position so he was sitting in front of Mary.

“Sounds great! Go ahead, just make sure it compliments both my nails and my outfit. I can’t go out in public if my look doesn’t work.”

Mary looked surprised and waited for him to psyche her out…But he hadn’t moved. This was supposed be her way of getting revenge for the rubbery hero’s comment about her being in charge of the family but it seemed like it may have backfired. After a moment, she shrugged and began going through the process of applying makeup to the hero’s face and Plastic Man immediately complained about how ticklish the brushes were on his face. Mary told him to stay still or else she might apply too much foundation to his face, which would make him look like a clown. Plastic Man couldn’t help but chuckle as the brushes swept across his face and he sarcastically commented:

“I’ll be fine with whatever you do Mary, just don’t make me look like the Joker.”

Mary titled her head in annoyance at the rubbery hero’s jab and looked into the makeup box for something to get back at Plastic Man with. She saw the eye shadow palette and the small prickly brushes that were used to apply them. A coy smile appeared on her face as she picked up a tiny brush and applied some dark, purple eye shadow to the tip. Mary turned back to Plastic Man and had him remove his goggles only for him to immediately flinch when the brush touched his eyelid.

“Ah, that tickles, Mary! Don’t you have a softer brush or something?!”

“Nope,” Mary said, sounding a little too pleased with herself, “Now hold still while I finish applying the eye shadow.”

Somehow Plastic Man managed to sit still enough for the rest of the eye shadow application and Mary moved onto the blush, which made the elastic hero continue flinching since the brush was so ticklish on his cheeks for some reason. Both Darla and Mary laughed at the hero’s plight and continued applying the rest of the makeup in their appropriate places.

By the time they finished, the makeup look that Plastic Man was modeling definitely was not natural looking. The blush on his cheeks was far too red, it almost looked like he was sunburnt, and the eye shadow Mary went with was so dark it looked like the hero had been punched in the eyes. Despite that, Plastic Man was admiring his new look in the mirror Mary handed him and Darla was giggling nonstop at the silly faces the hero was making at himself.

Billy and Freddy were sitting on the couch and watching the whole ordeal. Freddy seemed a bit confused by Plastic Man’s willingness to let his sisters put him through that kind of torture. He turned to Billy.

“Is he always like this?”

Billy nodded.

“Yep…I mean he doesn’t wear makeup and paint his nails all the time, but he does mess around a lot.”

Freddy chuckled at that jab and looked back over at Plastic Man trying to sit still long enough for Mary to apply some fake lashes to his twitchy eyelids. The sight was far too much to handle and the rest of the siblings ended up laughing out loud at the rubbery hero’s suffering.

After he managed to adjust to all the new sensations of having chemicals applied to his face and weird fluttering things in his eye sight, Plastic Man turned on the kids laughing at him and sassily waved his hands at them while talking in an exaggerated accent.

“Uh uh, you kids don’t get to laugh at me. I worked hard for this look and my stylists make more than you do in a year.”

Darla and Mary giggled loudly at the rubbery hero’s declaration and couldn’t help feeling accomplished at their handiwork. As the laughter was beginning to calm down and all the kids were catching their breath, another hand tapped Plastic Man’s shoulder.

“Hey, Plastic Man.”

The rubbery hero turned towards the shortest boy out of Billy’s siblings, who was wearing rectangular glasses and had short black hair. He was holding a couple of game controllers in his hands and held one out to Plastic Man.

“Want to play me?”

The stretchy hero enthusiastically nodded and delicately took the controller, carefully not to mess up his glamorous nails.

“Challenge accepted,…?”

“Eugene. The name of the person who’s about to beat you.”

A goofy grin spread across Plastic Man’s face and he settled down in front of the T.V. with Eugene sitting next to him.

“We’ll see whose gonna beat who, Eugene.”

All the other kids gathered around on the couch and watched as Plastic Man and Eugene picked their characters for the race. Freddy turned and whispered to Billy who was sitting next to him.

“You want to bet on whose gonna win?”

Billy smirked and whispered back.

“Sure, want to make a pool of snacks for the winner? Person who guesses correctly gets all the food?”

Freddy nodded and pulled out a bag of mini cookies he was hiding in his jacket and dramatically threw it onto the table.

“My cookies are on Eugene, I’ve never seen him lose.”

Billy ran into the kitchen and grabbed a few packs of cheese/crackers and rushed back into the living room to toss them on the table. When he came back, he saw Darla putting some of her favorite trail mix on the table, Pedro throwing some jerky on top, and Mary adding some dark chocolate that she loved. All of the siblings made eye-contact and quickly gathered into a huddle and whispered what racer they were betting on. It was unanimous: All of their snacks were on Eugene, the undefeated champion. Since they would all get their snacks back if he won, everyone decided that depending on what place he got in the race, they would get a certain number of snacks. Freddy jumped in and betted on Eugene getting first, Billy said second, Darla said third, Mary decided on fourth, and Pedro was stuck with fifth.

The kids all sat on the couch and watched the race unfold in front of them. Eugene was clearly not pulling any punches and Plastic Man was struggling to keep up. He kept falling behind back to nearly 12th place and Eugene was sitting comfortably in 1st place, clearly not worried about losing…However, during the last lap, everything changed.

Plastic Man bumped into one of those item boxes on the track and got an item that was guaranteed to at least move him up near the people in 1st through 5th. He burst through the track’s curves and sudden turns and was only a few racers behind Eugene. The siblings back on the couch held their breath, waiting anxiously to see what Eugene was going to do. He didn’t seem bothered and kept going, focusing on keeping first place until the very end.

Plastic Man scooted a little closer to the T.V and hyper-focused on getting another item box, this time getting three projectiles and shot them at the three racers in from of him, speeding ahead and taking third place. Eugene was beginning to try and gain ground by throwing some items behind him but Plastic Man managed to weave in and out around them, gaining more ground on both 1st and 2nd place. The final stretch of the race started and all the siblings on the couch were leaning closer and staring as both Plastic Man and Eugene were speeding up towards the finish line.

Eugene purposely left an item behind him that was guaranteed to at least slow down Plastic Man but it ended up knocking out the 2nd place racer and as they spun around, the rubbery hero sped up and grabbed an item himself as he took the 2nd place slot. It was an item that didn’t immediately lock onto another racer but if you aimed it just right on one of the road guards and it rebounded at the right angle—Plastic Man throw the projectile and all the siblings watched in pure shock as it bounced off the side of a wall and hit Eugene’s racer squarely in the back and the kid could only frantically push the buttons on his controller as Plastic Man sped past him and crossed the finish line.

There was a moment of silence before all the siblings on the couch jumped up and started cheering and screaming over at the final moments of the race. They had never seen Eugene lose a game before and the fact it was Plastic Man who beat him was unbelievable. The rubbery hero spun around when he heard all the cheering and his eyes were nearly bugging out of his head when he saw all the snacks piled up on the table. His voice came out in a tone that sounded like a combination of shock and dismay at being left out.

“Wait! You kids were doing a betting pool?! Why didn’t you tell me?”

Billy dismissively shrugged.

“Well, it doesn’t matter since we all bet on Eugene and he lost…”

Plastic Man smirked and eyed the snacks on the table.

“Does that mean…I get all of these?”

Billy sighed in defeat.

“Yeah, go ahead.”

The stretchy hero didn’t need any more prompting before scooping all the snacks into his arms and began munching on them. Plastic Man turned back to his opponent and noticed the way that the kid was looking like he was in shock from losing. Instead of rubbing it like some people might have, the rubbery hero sat back down beside Eugene and offered him the bag of the cookies from the betting pool. The kid looked a little surprised at the gesture but took the snack and Plastic Man extended his hand to Eugene while offering a warm smile.

“Good game, Eugene. You really put up a fight, I wasn’t sure if I would ever catch up with you.”

The kid looked over at Plastic Man and shook his hand.

“We have to play another race, Plastic Man. I am not going to lose again.”

Plastic Man put a hand on his chin and titled his head to the side, considering what the kid said.

“Mm, I don’t know…Maybe I should quit while I’m ahead and on a winning streak.”

The rubbery hero looked back over at the kid and winked at Eugene, clearly joking and willing to play again. The boy smiled and immediately started challenging Plastic Man to race him on the hardest track and the fastest speed the vehicles would go. The hero had a feeling that he was going to get completely annihilated in the next round.

Once he got a moment, the hero looked over at the clock on the wall and was surprised that it was already around dinner time. He quickly thought of what would be easiest to make and immediately thought of a food that everyone loved.

Plastic Man cleared his throat and all the kids turned to him.

“Do you kids want to order a pizza?”

Resounding cheers from five of the kids echoed in the living room and the rubbery hero wondered who was not onboard for having pizza. Looking at the kids, Plastic Man noticed that Darla looked upset so he walked over and then knelt down to be at her eye level.

“What’s wrong, Darla?”

The girl’s voice was barely audible and she sounded a little afraid of being a downer for everyone.

“I don’t like eating animals…”

Realization dawned on the rubber hero’s face and he gently jostled the girl’s shoulder.

“That’s perfectly alright, Darla. Would you like a vegan pizza instead?”

The young girl beamed at Plastic Man and feverishly nodded her head.

“Yes, please! Thank you, Mr. Plastic Man!”

Darla wrapped her arms around the rubbery hero’s neck and squeezed him tightly in a hug. Plastic Man internally swore he was going to get diabetes from Darla’s kindness as he hugged the sweet girl back and chuckled over his new formal nickname.

“You can just call me ‘Plas’ if you’d like, Darla.”

“All right, Mr. Plas!”

The rubbery hero let out a laugh and stood back up as Darla released him from her heart-melting embrace.

The rest of the kids clamored around Plastic Man and asked him to order the specific types they wanted. Some were easy; Billy and Freddy both agreed on the classic pepperoni, two separate ones, Pedro wanted a very particular type of flat-crust pizza but the stretchy hero was patient and had the kid write down what he wanted, Mary asked for a supreme pizza with all the fixings, and Eugene requested a meat-lover’s pizza in a size that would have fed four of him. And of course, Plastic Man ordered a vegan pizza for Darla.

As he was wrapping up the order, the rubbery hero gestured over at the large dining table for the kids to get it ready for food. The siblings didn’t need much prompting before they started pulling out plates, glasses, and napkins. While the kids were preparing the table for all the pizzas, Plastic Man whispered something into the phone he was ordering the food on.

“Also, can you add four packages of cookie dough onto the order? Actually, do you have a vegan dessert you could add? Thanks, see you in thirty minutes!”

Plastic Man hung up the phone and helped the kids set the rest of the table and noticed a hand weight that was sitting near the end of the table. He went to pick it up and felt like he was trying to pull a sword out a stone with how heavy it was. After a moment, one Billy's brothers who was heavier-set than the other siblings came over and quietly picked up the weight off the table with virtually no effort. The elastic hero stared at the kid, gobsmacked at easily the boy lifted such a heavy weight with barely a struggle.

“Kid, have you been working out?”

Billy's sibling looked a little uncomfortable about being questioned about his activities but after a moment, he nodded. Plastic Man chuckled warmly as he put out some napkins.

“You’re already stronger than me, that’s for sure. I can’t lift anything that heavy unless I add muscle onto my arms. That’s an incredible devotion you got there, kid.”

“….I wish I had your powers, Plastic Man, sir.”

The rubbery hero turned at hearing the boy speak and looked surprised at the kid’s desire for powers like him.

“Are you kidding me, kid? I wish I had your power of getting stronger every day! You see this...?” Plastic Man paused, waiting for the kid to tell him his name and after realizing why the rubbery hero stopped, he told him his name in a quiet voice. "...My name is Pedro." The elastic hero nodded and then stretched one of his arms out and wiggled it around like a limp spaghetti noodle, “You see this? My arm is nothing but flabby flesh. Now you,” The rubbery hero reached over and gently poked Pedro’s bicep, “You have built up muscles that are going to last forever if you keep training yourself. That’s incredible, Pedro!”

Pedro thought for a moment about what Plastic Man said and eventually, he looked over at the elastic hero with a grateful smile. The kid didn’t say anything else about powers or strength but Plastic Man could tell that he needed to hear something like that to encourage him to keep going.

The doorbell rang, interrupting the table setting procedure just as they finished and Mary went to the door to pay the delivery man for the food. He luckily didn’t question why a girl like Mary was ordering so many pizzas or that many desserts so everything went without a hitch. Plastic Man helped her bring all the pizzas to the table and the rest of the siblings gathered around the kitchen counter with their plates and started grabbing slices to eat.

The hero started scooping cookie dough onto the cooking sheets and putting them into the oven, so they would be done right around the time they finished eating their pizza. After he did that, Plastic Man grabbed a slice himself and sat down at the table with the kids. None of them started eating yet and the rubbery hero looked at them all, wondering what they were waiting for. After a moment, Billy leaned forward and reached his hand out over the center of the table. 

“All hands on deck.”

The other kids quickly followed suit and all their hands were in a pile, as if they were preparing for a cheer before a big game. Plastic Man wasn’t sure whether he should join in but when he saw all the kids turn to him with expectant looks on their faces, he smiled and stretched his hand over and rested it gently on top of the pile. Now that he had joined, all the kids bowed their heads and Billy said a quick prayer of thanks.

“Thank you for this food, thank you for this family, and thank you for a nosy friend like Plas who buys too many pizzas. Amen.”

All the other kids echoed that amen and Plastic Man couldn’t help but smirk over at Billy’s jab. That kid could insult him every which way but he would still look out for him. The rubbery hero dove into devouring the food and thought there couldn’t possibly be any harm in ordering this many pizzas. However, it did result in a significant amount of leftovers that could barely fit into the refrigerator but none of the kids were complaining, since it meant they could have it for lunch during school. After dinner was over and the food had been put away, everyone had settled onto the couch and started chatting about how to kill time while eating the freshly baked cookies.

Billy suggested a movie and all the other kids immediately pitched in some recommendations, only for Darla to suggest a movie they all had watched multiple times but ultimately decided on it when Plastic Man said he had never seen it before. As soon as the movie started, all the kids settled into their spots and got lost in the movie’s beautiful animation and music that somehow felt like it was speaking directly to their souls.

Plastic Man was sitting on the couch and felt Darla leaning into his left side while Billy and Freddy sat on his right side. Eugene and Pedro were sitting on the floor in front of the couch and Mary was in the kitchen grabbing some more snacks for everyone.

Plastic Man turned to Darla and whispered, so he would’t interrupt the movie for the other kids.

“So…the big and round grey creature the girls found in the forest isn’t evil?”

Darla giggled and whispered back to the stretchy hero.

“No, he just looks scary at first. Near the end of the movie, he’s going to help the sisters. Just wait.”

“I don’t know Darla, I think I would be scared if I saw something like that in the woods.”

The girl wrapped her arms tightly around Plastic Man and snuggled into his side. Her voice was comforting when she spoke while squished next to him.

“It’s ok, Mr. Plas. Nothing scary is going to happen. I promise.”

The once-solid heart inside the rubbery hero’s chest had all but melted into a puddle when he heard Darla say that. Hearing such a genuine promise from a young girl made Plastic Man smile from ear to ear as he wrapped one of his arms around Darla, pulling her a little closer and gently resting his head on top of hers.

“Thanks, Darla. I knew I could depend on you.”

The movie continued and all the kids were yawning occasionally but no one had wanted to go to bed yet. It seemed silly to want to go to sleep considering that Plastic Man himself was hanging out with them and all the kids wanted to spend as much time as possible with him before he left.

About halfway through the movie, Plastic Man realized that all the kids had fallen asleep. 

Sitting on the floor, Eugene’s glasses were askew while his skinny arms were hanging loosely at his sides as he snored quietly. Near him on the floor, Mary had ended up laying on her side and resting her head on the side of her right arm. Also asleep on the floor was Pedro, who was still sitting up straight but his arms were crossed and he was snoring louder than Eugene.

Up on the couch, Darla’s arms were wrapped so tightly around Plastic Man that her round glasses were digging into his side, and her mouth was hanging slightly open as she softly breathed in and out. Along with the rubbery hero and Darla was Freddy, who was leaning into Plastic Man’s right side and his mouth was open as he dreamt. Next to him was Billy who had fallen asleep against Freddy with a smile on his face and Plastic Man couldn’t help feeling a warmth blossom in his chest at the domestic scene.

Plastic Man figured the best thing to do was to get these kids to bed so Victor and Rosa didn’t think they stayed up all night, so he began the process of moving the kids to their bedrooms. He figured he should start with Darla since she was nearly attached to him already, so Plastic Man wrapped his arms around her and lifted her off the couch. Darla suddenly inhaled deeply and the rubbery hero froze, afraid he might have woken her up but after a moment, the girl fell back asleep and continued dreaming against Plastic Man’s side.

The elastic hero let out a relieved sigh and stretched just the upper portion of his body up the stairs while holding Darla in his arms. He looked at the bedroom doors and spotted the one that a decorated sign with the name “Darla” surrounded by flowers and other doodles. Plastic Man gripped the door knob while balancing the sleeping girl his other arm and opened the door. 

Darla’s bedroom was decorated with plain white furniture but the rubbery hero could see the young girl’s personality shining through in the few stuffed toys she had on the bed and the drawings she displayed proudly. It warmed Plastic Man’s heart to see that even though these kids foster parents couldn’t give theme everything, they gave them exactly what they needed to be happy and feel at home.

The rubbery hero hovered near the small bed in the bedroom and gently tucked Darla in under the covers. The little girl sighed contentedly as Plastic Man adjusted blankets and just as he went to leave, her soft voice whispered something and he leaned forward to hear.

“You’re my favorite hero, Plas…”

Plastic Man felt his pliable heart melt into a puddle of goo and he gently ruffled Darla’s hair before softly closing her bedroom door behind him as he left. He didn’t have any daughters or nieces but when it came to Darla, the elastic hero felt like he could picture exactly what the experience was like. 

Plastic Man stretched his body back down the stairs and decided to put Eugene to bed next considering he looked kinda uncomfortable sitting on the floor. He gathered the small boy in his arms and went back up the stairs, locating the door that had the name “Eugene” written on it.

The inside of this room was also modestly decorated but there were signs of Eugene’s gaming habits scattered around on the bookshelf and on the desk. Pieces of game consoles were scattered on the bookshelves, waiting to be resembled or combined with other parts, controllers with modifications made to them were laying on the floor, and a few posters of video games were pinned to the plain walls.The memories of their earlier race retuned to Plastic Man’s mind and he smiled warmly down at the boy who was sleeping peacefully in his arms. In a quiet voice, so he was sure not to wake Eugene, the elastic hero spoke in the still bedroom.

“You’re an amazing person, kid. You got something you love and embraced it, don’t give up on it.”

Eugene stirred a little but didn’t wake up. To Plastic Man, it seemed like the kid might have heard what he said but he couldn’t say for sure. He just hoped his words got through somehow. The rubbery hero stretched a little further into the bedroom and floated next to the bed. He placed Eugene on the mattress and made sure to take the kid’s glasses off so he didn’t sleep with them on and put them on the nightstand table. Repeating the motion of tucking the kid in, Plastic Man made sure Eugene was settled in and arranged the covers until they were perfect. Before he left, the elastic hero brushed the kid’s bangs to side and smiled as he pulled himself out out of the room and closed the door.

Plastic Man stretched himself back downstairs and decided on taking Pedro up next. He picked the kid up and once again stretched just the upper part of his body back up the stairs and located Pedro’s bedroom.

The inside of Pedro’s room was simple like Eugene’s and Darla’s but there were more weights and workout equipment strewn about. There were posters of some body builders that the kid must have admired and Plastic Man Man found himself feeling grateful that this kid was able to find inspiration through role models. The stretchy hero levitated next to the bed and gently placed Pedro down on the mattress. Plastic Man pulled the covers up to the kid’s chin and spoke softly in the quiet room.

“I meant what I said earlier, Pedro. Don’t stop improving yourself and getting stronger. It’s worth all the sore muscles and sweat, you got this.”

Pedro barely stirred but the rubbery hero swore he saw a slight smile appear as he left the bedroom and closed the door behind him.

The stretchy hero once again traveled back down to the couch and figured it would be wise to take care of Mary next. Plastic Man was careful to pick her up without too much jostling and carried her bridal-style back up the stairs and to her room. She sleepily wrapped her arms his neck, giving him a tight hug in the process and the rubbery hero smiled warmly down at her. 

He located her room easily with her name on the door like all the others and opened the door to see the family plain room like the others but the personality of its occupant shining through. Mary had folders for her homework and important files, boxes of important items, and memories scattered on the walls through photographs with her siblings and foster parents.

Plastic Man went through the familiar motions of putting a kid in bed and tucking them in as he took in the warm atmosphere of Mary’s bedroom. As he finished tucking her in, the rubbery hero smiled proudly down at Mary as she breathed softly while dreaming.

“Keep up the great work, Mary. You’re going to accomplish so many things and I am going to support you all the way.”

The stretchy hero quietly left the bedroom and closed the door as he headed back downstairs to bring up the last of the kids to their rooms. As he arrived back in the living room, Plastic Man saw that the only kids he had left to tuck in were Billy and Freddy. He figured he could carry both of them up at the same time but also, he just couldn’t bring himself to separate them, even for a moment. The reason being that Billy, while in his sleep, managed to tightly wrap one of his arms around Freddy and it almost seemed like the two were attached at the hip.

Plastic Man managed to pick up both them at the same time and somehow juggled holding them in his arms as he traveled back up the stairs once again. The boys barely moved around while he carried them upstairs and located their room. Plastic Man pushed the door open to reveal the bedroom that Billy and Freddy shared. He immediately saw that both of the boys loved super heroes, based off the newspaper clippings that someone had meticulous cut out and pinned to the wall, and the fact there were notebooks laying on the floor that had possible hero names scribbled on the pages. It was so adorable that Plastic Man couldn’t help but smile warmly at the thought of these boys staying up late at night to think of what to call Billy when he first became Captain Marvel.

After a moment of consideration, Plastic Man decided to put both of the boys on the bottom bunk, considering they were still holding onto to each other. The stretchy hero gently set them down on the bed and let them lean back against the wall. Once they were sitting comfortably, he grabbed a blanket from the top bunk and then wrapped it around Billy and Freddy as they leaned against each other. They both had small smiles resting on their faces, dreaming of something peaceful, just like all kids should be dreaming of. A soft smile spread Plastic Man’s face as watched the boys sleeping and he couldn’t help but reach over and ruffle both Freddy’s dark brown curls as he remembered their meeting earlier when he showed up unexpectedly.

“Keep supporting heroes, Freddy. It’s people like you that keep me going. And Billy,” The elastic hero turned and tousled the kid’s black hair as Plastic Man’s eyes felt like they were filling with tears and he struggled to keep himself from crying, “I’m proud of you, kid. You have a family here that loves you…they love you so much kid. Never forget that.”

With those parting words, Plastic Man stretched back to the bedroom door and just before he closed it, whispered into the quiet room.

“Sweet dreams, boys.”

The elastic hero softly closed the door and finally reunited with his lower half on the couch downstairs and stood up to leave. He headed towards the back door and locked it behind him, making sure the kids would be safe until their foster parents arrived in the morning.

Back upstairs, Billy stirred as soon as the bedroom door closed and was surprised to see he was laying on the bed with Freddy beside him. He looked around and realized that Plastic Man wasn’t anywhere to be found. The kid jumped off the bed and ran down the stairs, looking for the rubbery hero. 

He searched all around the living room and saw no sign of the familiar red leotard or oversized goggles. Billy looked out the backdoor window and saw Plastic Man walking across the backyard and the kid ran at lightening speed to catch the older hero before he left, nearly jerking the door of his hinges and sprinting across the cold grass.

“Plas! Wait!”

The stretchy hero spun around so quickly that his torso looked like a wrung out towel and his mouth hung open.

“Billy? I thought you were asleep!”

The kid rubbed the back of his head, feeling a little embarrassed.

“Well…I kinda woke up when I heard my bedroom door close. I just wanted to…”

Plastic Man noticed the way that Billy hesitated before finishing his sentence and he came a little closer to the kid. He watched as the kid fiddled with his hands and for some reason, couldn’t bring himself to continue. Since he was having trouble, Plastic Man figured he’d offer some help.

“You just wanted to…?”

Billy looked up at Plastic Man and completely forgot that Mary and Darla had put obnoxious makeup on his face and the kid started chuckling. The rubbery hero looked confused and then happened to piece together what Billy was laughing about and made an exaggerated pose with the makeup. The kid’s laughter grew even louder and Plastic Man couldn’t help but join in at how ridiculous he must look right now, especially with the glow of the houselights lighting up his ghostly features with the thick foundation.

Once the two had a good laugh and got all the awkwardness out of the way, Plastic Man finally prompted Billy again to talk about what he wanted to say before.

“What did you want to tell me, Billy?”

The kid smiled up at him and his blue eyes were bright in the moonlight.

“I just want to say thanks for hanging out with me and my siblings today. I had fun.”

“Hey, no problem,” Plastic Man ruffled Billy’s dark hair with a smile, “What are friends for?”

“You know,” the kid said and paused to look up at the rubbery hero with a strange look in his eyes, “You’re more like an uncle than a friend.”

A huge smile spread across Plastic Man’s face and he was almost giving the kid a noogie in excitement.

“Really, kid? I’m getting promoted to the uncle rank now?”

Billy was smiling as he tried to escape the stretchy hero’s embrace and tried to pull a sarcastic jab at Plastic Man.

“Yeah, the weird uncle rank.”

Unfortunately, that remark backfired and Plastic Man wrapped his arms around Billy and lifted him a few inches off the ground and hugged him tight.

“Even better, kid! I always wanted to be a weird uncle for a weird nephew, and here you are! Making that dream come true!”

Billy couldn’t find any way out of the boa-constrictor hug he was trapped in so he could only wait until Plastic Man’s ecstasy of being called a weird uncle wore off. However, as he was being held against the stretchy hero, Billy realized something: He never knew what having an uncle was like but after thinking about everything Plastic Man did today with him and his family, he wondered if that is what uncles do for their nephews. Do they look after you like how Plastic Man looked after him?

As Billy was just thinking about everything the stretchy hero did for him these past few months, Plastic Man released the kid from his embrace and put him back on the ground. He ruffled the kid’s dark hair again, which was becoming instinct for the rubbery hero and routine for the young hero standing in front of him. As he pulled his hand away from Billy’s hair, the kid smiled warmly at Plastic Man

“Thanks again, Plas…For everything.”

For the first time Billy could recall, the smile that appeared on Plastic Man’s face looked genuine and not over-exaggerated or goofy to make someone laugh. It almost looked…mature.

“You’re welcome, Billy. I’ll always be there if you need me. After all, I’m your weird uncle.”

Billy chuckled at that parting statement as Plastic Man stretched his legs out and began the short walk back to a nearby clearing to transport back up to the Watchtower. As the kid watched the hero leave, he found himself feeling both grateful and baffled how he ended up with a person like Plastic Man as his newly-appointed uncle.

THE END

**Author's Note:**

> Wow, this has to the be the longest fic I have posted so far and absolutely nothing happened in it. lol Just kidding, I loved writing all the interactions in this fic and wanted to make sure and give each of the Marvel family a moment with Plastic Man. This one was a work in progress for a while and I needed to make sure that everything made sense and not be a jumbled mess and I think it turned out pretty great. Hopefully this will open up the door for more interactions between Plas and the Marvel family in the future!
> 
> I wanted to give my few readers a longer update before I go on another indefinite hiatus but not to worry, I still plan on continuing to update as often as possible. These fics are such a joy to write whenever I need a pick-me-up and I hope in a way, they do the same for my readers. Thank you all for being so patient and hanging around to see what I post. Any kudos or comments you leave make my day and keep me writing! <3


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